TheThinkTank March 2007

thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org

10 participants
4 discussions

Is there a collective in New Orleans?
by Jonathan Morrison 06 Dec '12

06 Dec '12

Email me if you know of one. -- Sincerely, Jonathan Morrison Project Coordinator Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective 2312 S. West Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84115 w: 801-328-2453 c: 801-688-0183 f: 801-466-3856 www.slcbikecollective.org

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call for workshops, bike!bike! 2007
by Jessica McPherson 18 Mar '07

18 Mar '07

Hey everyone, we are sending the call out to plan workshops for Bike!Bike! 2007 - forward as appropriate! -Jessica, Free Ride Bicycle Coop WHAT IS BIKE! BIKE!? Bike!Bike! is, an annual gathering and conference of Community and Non-Profit Bike shops and projects. In 2007 the fourth annual Bike!Bike! Conference will by hosted by the Free Ride collective in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It all started in New Orleans back in 2003 when the Plan B Coop invited 50 or so people from across the country to gather and discuss, network, collaborate, brainstorm and all around geek out about their recycled bike projects. It has since grown, attracting bike projects from the U.S. and Canada. This year we at Free Ride! hope to expand the conference to be beneficial for both small bicycle cooperatives that are just starting up, as well as larger recycled bike organizations that are well established. At this time new community bike projects are starting up all across the continent and bringing new ideas and energy to the field, but there are also well-established projects with the benefit of years of experience. We hope for Bike!Bike! to provide a forum for cross-pollination to the benefit of all. For more information, see: www.bikebike.org. WHAT ARE WORKSHOPS? As in years past, this year the Bike Bike agenda will be a collaborative effort from those involved in community bike projects all across the country. We seek volunteers to lead workshops, discussions, and skill-shares on all aspects of community bike project work. To create the vibrant exchange of ideas that BikeBike has historically offered, we need a diversity of voices from different geographic regions, experience levels, organizational models, and program focus areas so step up and get involved! Topics can range from programs, community engagement, administration, fundraising, bike mechanics, etc.. Some sample ideas from the Free Ride planning committee: Youth Employment, Incorporating Arts Education, Sending Bikes Globally, Collaboration with bike advocacy organizations, Earn-A-Bike programs-(funding,curriculum etc), Bicycle Education in Schools, University Collaborations, Non-Profit Status, mechanical skills workshops (3-speeds, trailers, welding, etc.), and more. Free Rides workshop space and tools will be available. The first day of the conference will be Bike Project 101, geared towards those who are just starting out in the endeavor of building a community bike project. It will include basic workshops on topics such as: finding a space, introduction to programs (earn-a-bike, adult or kids classes, etc.), fundraising, models for organization (collective, co-op, volunteers, etc), and legal questions (insurance, non-profit affiliation, etc.). We seek members of established projects who are willing to facilitate an introductory workshop on some aspect of bike project organization on this first day of the conference. If you or your program does something particularly well- share that with the country! If theres a challenge, innovation, or issue you think is particularly relevant to bike program work- study up and offer to lead a workshop! Workshop format is at the discretion of the organizer; it may range from facilitated discussions, participatory skills-sharing, or more formal presentations by an individual or group. Please plan at a minimum to be prepared to facilitate a group discussion, and well-informed on the subject. This year we are also looking beyond the bicycling community to bring in expertise we can benefit from in community bike project work. Topics might include anti-racism training, working with youth, legal aspects, etc. Please contact us with any suggestions for topics or individuals who might be expert presenters/facilitators for such workshops. HOW DO I SUBMIT A PROPOSAL? To propose a workshop, send a brief description including subject matter, workshop format, and any facilities preferences by May 15, 2007. Please submit your name, the organization you are representing (if applicable), full contact information, one reference (professional or personal), and a short biography of yourself and/or your organization. Please submit early, so that if we have duplicate/similar proposals we can connect folks and encourage collaboration. Please send in your proposals via email to workshops(a)bike-pgh.org, and include the word Proposal in the subject line. If electronic submission is not possible, please use the mailing address listed below. Free Ride! will compile the agenda and notify people regarding the status of their proposals by July 1. Free Ride! Bike!Bike! Workshop Committee 214 N. Lexington Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15208 OTHER CONFERENCE PLANSGET INVOLVED! There is a bulletin board set up on the www.bikebike.org site for discussion & collaborative planning across the miles for this years conference, please visit! Free Ride!s planning committee has a short list of ideas already: a professional Anti-Racist Training, a Think Tank to work on a community bike shop presentation for Interbike, a Think Tank to work on the Community Bike Shop wiki, a hands-on project to take advantage of the convergence of good mechanics all in one place, a merch swap, and extra-curriculars like bike rides, movies, and parties. If you are interested in organizing or helping out with any of these activities, please email workshops(a)bike-pgh.org with your interests, or call Free Ride! at 412-731-4094. If you can offer help with conference basics such as food or publicity, email freeride(a)bike-pgh.org. Thanks and we look forward to hosting yinz! (thats Pittsburh-ese for you-all), Free Ride Recycled Bike Coop ____________________________________________________________________________________ Expecting? Get great news right away with email Auto-Check. Try the Yahoo! Mail Beta. http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/mailbeta/newmail_tools.html

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us social forum .. presentation by bicycle co-op/collective folks?
by rachael spiewak 15 Mar '07

15 Mar '07

so the us social forum <http://www.ussf2007.org/> is being held in atlanta, and i just got an email about the deadline for proposals being extended. i thought, i'll run that by the bike co-op/collective folks and see if all y'all want to come up with something. if not, no worries. just thought i'd put it out there. by the way, if you're coming to the forum, you can crash with me. here's the info i got: USSF Proposals now being accepted Deadline Extended to April 27, 2007 People world-wide know that another world is needed. The Social Forum movement believes that is possible. At the US Social Forum people from all over the country will gather to think about what kind of world is needed and how we can get there. The US Social Forum is a very special kind of gathering: one that has never taken place in this country up to now. It isn't a conference with an agenda and a program of events; it's a gathering whose participants produce our own agenda and our own programs. Please help us to organize the United States Social Forum. To be successful, the Social Forum needs you, your energy and your creativity. We need you to develop a presentation, involve as many people as you can in organizing it and then explain and submit it to the Program Committee. We explain the details in the Call but keep one thing in mind: Even if you have doubts about whether an event will be approved or meets the criteria, go ahead and talk about it and try to get other organizations involved with it and then submit. The mere process of planning, thinking, talking and preliminary organizing will move you, the people you're working with and the rest of us forward. The moment you think of an idea, you are already participating in the Social Forum. Español http://www.ussf2007.org/en/node/add/content_ussf_2007_session_propos -rachael

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sopo invades berlin
by rachael spiewak 03 Mar '07

03 Mar '07

yesterday i met with the girls who are working on creating a bike cooperative in berlin. the economic and governmental structures are different, which means different things for the way they will collect money and how they may or may not register themselves, but the principles, values, philosophies, and politics, as well as the decision making processes and concerns about privilege and power reflect what i think a lot of us are more or less experiencing (not that i can speak for everyone, but i think it is a reasonable generalization). it was really great to share with them, and i am trying to convince them to come to bikebike. also, there is a european bikebike kind of thing happening this spring in italy i think. it seems that what is helpful to people i meet who want to know about sopo is to tell the whole story of how things happened (and i know that my version of the story is different from that of the other organizers), so i am thinking about writing my version down and maybe collecting the stories of others and then assembling it into a zine or some other publication. anyone got friends at ak press? haha. anyway.. i just wanted to share that we are everywhere, doing good, and making the world a better place. hooray! two wheels good, rachael

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TheThinkTank March 2007